North of the Mountain
by Lamprey
Summary: Set after the Season 5 finale. A new killer is loose in Santa Barbara and the SBPD must find them before it's too late. Lots of Shules fluff.
1. Prologue

Juliet's whimper woke him from his dreams. Her sleeping face, usually so peaceful and beautiful was crossed with a frown, and every now and then she would thrash a bit, as though she were trying to escape something. The sunlight streamed down through the slightly open curtains and kissed her face with golden tendrils. Not for the first time, Shawn found himself lost in her simple beauty.

Shawn gently placed his lips against hers, waking his sleeping beauty with a kiss and rescuing her from the nightmares that roared through her head. Her eyes opened wide, and for a second he saw only fear in her storm grey eyes. He wasn't sure what she'd dreamed, and began to pull his face away from hers, ignoring the protest from the rest of his mind.

"You were having a nightmare" He murmured softly, wishing he had the power to protect her, even in her own mind. He'd made the promise just yesterday. He felt a little useless… she was always so strong. It was almost strange to see her vulnerable.

"Mmhm" she slid back toward him, pressing her lips against his, and letting him pull her close against his body. He could feel the anxiousness that still made her muscles tight and her kiss crushing and frantic.

"It's okay Jules. Whatever it was, it wasn't real." He whispered between kisses.

She pulled him tight and buried her face against his chest, seeming to just seek contact with him. The thought made him happy in spite of the situation. After so long not even realizing he loved her, it never ceased to amaze him that she could need him the same way he needed her.

"Was it about being eaten by raccoons?"

Juliet looked up at him and laughed, glad for the humor. "No, although that is quite terrifying."

"What was it? I mean…if you wanna tell me." He kissed her blonde hair. She'd lightened it again once they started dating. She'd remembered him saying that he liked it better that way, although truth be told he'd like her hair it even if it was blue and polka dotted.

"The Clock tower." She said simply, nuzzling further into his arms, enjoying his embrace. His muscles went rigid.

"Jules, I am so sorry" Shawn's voice was thick with guilt. He pulled his arms away from her. How could he ever forgive himself for what he'd done?

"What? Shawn, no!" she threw her arms around him and kissed his lips passionately again, but to no avail. His lips remained firm, and him unmoving.

"I don't deserve you." He said simply. Hating that he was saying it. Imagining the consequences if she agreed. But it was true. That night he'd chosen Abigail, and left Juliet to cry in the arms of Lassiter. It'd been the hardest decision he'd ever had to make. He couldn't help but think that maybe if he'd chosen to rescue Juliet and left Abigail to Lassie, things would have been different. He'd promised he'd always protect her…and here was an example where he had failed so miserably…he didn't even want to think of it.

"Shawn! You were dating her at the time, and not me. I have never blamed you for the choice you made. I am the cop and she is a civilian. My job was to lay down my life so she could live. I'm still alive, and I love you. Please stop being so silly." She kissed him again. This time his lips moved with hers and he pulled her tight against him until they were a messy tangle of sheets and arms and legs.

_I love you too Jules. I always have._


	2. Chapter 1: Coffee and Kisses

Juliet walked into the station with her favorite coffee warming her hands. Although they had been together for several weeks, they had decided it would just be simpler if nobody knew about their relationship. If the chief learned about them, it could endanger Psych being called in as consultants. Since Shawn had been able to keep this job more than any of his other jobs put together, he was loath to relinquish his hold on it, even if it meant denouncing his love. He wasn't happy about it though. He was never happy that Juliet was close, close enough to touch, to kiss, to have wildly crazy sex with, and yet he couldn't so much as hold her hand. Times like that made him want to scream in frustration. But he shrugged it off and dropped an extra Pretty in Pink or Breakfast club reference to pass the time until they were alone. As such, they never entered the station together, and he tried to spend as much time as he could bear away from the station.

He would be coming in minutes later, she knew. He would go get Gus and they would drive up to the station in the 'Blueberry' and they would stroll in like they owned the place. She wanted him here now though. The images of being tied to the face of the giant clock all those months ago still flashed against her eyelids whenever she closed her eyes. It had taken her weeks to get back to her job after that, and she thought she had fully recovered since then. Obviously the memories were lurking just out of sight, waiting to catch her off guard. She had to remind herself that Yin was dead, and Yang in an insane asylum for the rest of her crazy days. Her mind wandered to that final fatal encounter, as she sat down and drug a file out of the pile towards the center of her desk. Yin had been brutal according to Shawn, just seconds from injecting Gus with a lethal concoction. Shawn was still recovering from that. She remembered the night before, him holding her close while he told her how scared he'd been that he would lose his best friend. He'd also said he was scared no one would find them in that awful building, or that one of them would get killed trying to save them. Shawn had never seemed scared before. He hid behind his humor, and she had been taken in like everyone else. He wasn't much different from her in that sense. She hid behind her smile, while secretly reeling from Allison's attack on her, and the thought of how close she had been to losing Shawn. She hadn't found the strength to tell him anything about what had happened in the basement, except to tell him not to worry and that he should have seen the other girl. _And now that Yin and Yang were gone, it was only a matter of time until the next monster came along._ She shuddered at the thought. She hoped Shawn had been right when he'd kissed her and said that nobody could be as awful as those two.

Lassiter cleared his throat as he put his jacket over the chair, calling Juliet out of her thoughts and back into the brightly lit, red brick police station.

"Morning Carlton, I left you coffee on your desk." She smiled a winning smile.

"O'Hara, the interrogation rooms are for interrogation, not for you to tongue joust with Spencer." Lassiter blurted, without any couth.

Juliet's eyes widened as she looked around to see if anyone had overheard her partner's outburst. "What?" she hissed. He couldn't have seen last night- or rather yesterday morning- right?

"I saw you and Spencer after we got Yin. I don't know what trickery he used to get you to kiss him…"His eyes widened, "do you want me to shoot him?" he offered hopeful.

"No," Juliet said slowly, a little surprised and how calm he seemed, "you're not going to tell the Chief are you?"

"While I must question your choice in men, I know what it's like to be in a relationship with someone you work with. I don't want a new partner…but you owe me O'Hara." His gruff tones were grudging, but Juliet was thrilled she'd get to keep working with Shawn.

"Thank you Carlton, I'm sorry you had to see that"

"Just leave it at home next time." Juliet blushed. "And you can tell me these things, I AM your partner" he silently returned to his work, his conversation skills for the day exhausted.

Juliet was surprised at how smoothly that had gone. She had been expecting more…anger? Annoyance? She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but not this.

She turned back to her paperwork, glancing at the door every now and then waiting for Shawn to appear. Soon enough she was rewarded for her impatience, and he came striding through the door, green apple jacks t shirt stretched pleasantly across the muscles of his chest, with Gus, collared shirt and pressed pants, walking after him. Both of them were laughing and she saw their trademark fist bump across the room. She smiled. It was good they had recovered so well. Especially Gus. Shawn's shenanigans were always putting him in danger, and she wondered if he would ever get fed up of it. She couldn't imagine Shawn without him. She shook her head and tried to go back to concentrating on her work. Just as she tried to look away Shawn caught her eye and gave her his special lopsided grin that made the butterflies go wild in her stomach. She sighed. It was going to be difficult to work today.

" Hi Lassie!" Shawn visited his desk first, "You ready to be put to shame by my crime solving psychic skills?"

Lassiter's hands curled into fists, but he kept going through the papers on his desk. "I wasn't aware we had a case yet"

Shawn's hand flew to his temple. "I'm getting that we will have one soon" He smiled again at Jules. He wasn't sure how to tell her yet that he'd been lying to her for 5 years. It wasn't a conversation he looked forward to having. Declan had gotten off okay, but he hadn't known her for as long. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to share everything with her. He wanted to know everything about her…but he didn't want to lose her. He'd lived a lie this long...

Just then Chief Vic stuck her head out of her office. "Lassiter! O'Hara! Get in here!"

"And that's our cue!" Shawn and Gus followed the two detectives, Shawn bumping his hand against Juliet's with a smile. He seemed to have a much harder time following their rules than she did, but she was grateful for his touch all the same. Gus rolled his eyes when he saw their interaction.

When they got in the office, Juliet was careful to choose a seat far from Shawn. She wanted nothing more than to be close to him, to hold his hand and maybe peck him on his rough cheek, but she didn't want to be tempted. He frowned a little, but understood her distance.

"Spencer, Guster? What are you two doing here?"

"Why we've come to work on the case!"

"But we only got the case five minutes ago" Vic said with a frown

Shawn shrugged. "sometimes the spirits choose to tell me things. I don't know why"

Truthfully, he'd come in to bother Juliet, and maybe his father, when he'd heard the radio call in a homicide. It was perfect timing if he did say so himself. Which he would. To Gus. Later.

"Well I guess we should call your father in here if you want to be consulted, although I'm not sure we will need you yet.

Seconds later, Henry Spencer was crammed into the room with the rest of them. The Chief began to brief them.

"This morning a jogger found a body under some bushes in the woods. The body was severely decomposed, and the coroner has yet to get out there to establish cause of death. McNabb will lead you to the location. I know we just got done with the Yin case, and if any of you feels you are not up to starting a new case already, feel free to let me know." The room was silent. Chief Vic nodded. Very well then. McNabb is waiting outside.

They filed out of the office then, Shawn grabbing Juliet's arm and pulling her aside into an empty hallway. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, concern filling his green eyes. "It's only been a day…" She smiled and nodded, kissing him gently on the lips.

"I've been wanting to kiss you since you got here though" She admitted shyly ignoring the cocky smirk that spread across his face.

"I'm sure it was nothing compared to what I've been wanting since I got here." He crushed his lips against hers for a quick passionate kiss. She enjoyed a few seconds of his heated mouth pressing against hers and then playfully batted him away.

"They're waiting for us" she laughed. "They'll find us if we make out in the hallway all day."

"Let them!" he growled into her hair, embracing her.

"Shawn!"

"I'm sorry Jules" He didn't look sorry. The quirky smirk on his face told her he was anything but sorry.

"Let's go." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and danced away from his reach.

They made a show of walking composedly past the chief's office, Shawn a few feet behind her to give the full effect that they were not romantically related at all.

When they reached outside, both Gus and Lassiter gave them exasperated looks. Juliet's lips were still red from Shawn's kiss, and both of them looked like cats with cheese in their whiskers.

"Oh aren't you two just pleased as punch" Lassiter muttered under his breath.

"What was that Lassie? There's a boy, trapped in a well? Well we should go find him then shouldn't we?" Shawn clapped the detective on the back, completely ignorant that the man was in on his and Juliet's secret.

Lassiter ignored him. "Can we leave, McNabb?" he said tensely, wanting to get away from Shawn and his ridiculous remarks.


	3. Chapter 2: Pineapple Shampoo

Dark green light filtered through the leaves above the crime scene. It was dark under the tall Mandrone and Oak trees that surrounded the area, and the grisly scene seemed completely out of place under the gorgeous natural ambience that the forest provided. Yellow crime scene tape was stretched between 4 large trees, sectioning off the pieces of what was once human from the rest of the world. The body was held together with thin strips of ligaments and flesh that was mostly rotted away. The stench wafting from the area was overpowering, and sent Gus and his super-smeller throwing up into the bushes. Cops swarmed over the scene, looking for evidence to bag and tag while Juliet, Shawn and Lassiter surveyed the scene looking for clues as to who could have perpetrated such a crime.

Shawn immediately noticed footprints pressed into the soil leading away from the body, and consequently noticed that the treads of the prints did not match any of the standard issue police shoes. He stored this information away, waiting to see if the detectives would pick up on it. Lassiter in the mean time was checking the decayed and fraying jeans for a wallet or any sort of identification. He grasped the folded over leather with triumph in his eyes. Cases were so much more _simple_ when the victim identified themselves. None of that waiting three hours for a fingerprint scan to match, or for dental records to be found. His face fell when he opened the wallet and found what was inside however.

_Hello Detective Lassiter_

_Please stop me before I kill another. I can't seem to stop myself…they're just so soft when I slice my knife through them. Of course, I am not going to make this easy for you. I'll give you 3 clues to find me, and when you don't, another one dies. The next one might not be so…unknown to you_

_Huayin_

The symbol stamped below the signature was a mountain with a stream flowing next to it. The edge of the paper was bordered by a seemingly random pattern of 1s and 0s. The paper was faded and yellowed, as though it had been left in sunlight. Suddenly Lassiter's stomach churned as he realized how long this body must have been lying out here. He debated whether or not he should show O'Hara. It had been difficult getting her back after Yin had attacked and he knew she was not ready to face another serial killer. But she was his partner, and they needed to solve this crime and fast. Civilian lives were at stake.

Before he'd had time to make his decision, she knelt down next to him and read the note over his shoulder. She groaned. "What are we going to do Carlton? We need to solve this now. Now, before it's too late."

Shawn was the next to approach, wondering what could have creased Juliet's face into those concerned frown lines. "Whew. I could smell the burning rubber all the way from the edge of the crime scene. Stop thinking so hard Lassadoodle" Wordlessly Juliet held the note out in one gloved hand for Shawn to read.

"It's barely been a full day" She murmured, terror keeping her voice low. The grin faded from his face. He wanted to embrace her. He'd promised to protect her. He'd promised and thought it would be months, maybe even years before they met another mad man. And here they had another case; one where every moment her life was going to be in danger. Usually he found her profession sexy, and something to tease her about, but now he wished she was an accountant or a librarian, something out of the immediate path of danger. He longed to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. It was maddening.

He gave her the lopsided smile he knew she loved, hoping she would get the hint that he wanted to comfort her, or at least be so distracted by his Shawn-sexiness that she could forget how scared she was.

He clapped his hands. "Well this might not be so bad. I can tell you with absolute certainty that a tyrannosaurus did NOT kill this man. In fact, I'm sensing…" he tapped his foot. "What's this?" he cried as his foot seemed to stamp of its own accord. "footprints! Over there!" he pointed dramatically.

Soon lassie was pouring plaster of paris into the shoe print in order to get a mold. While the head detective was letting the plaster dry, Shawn dragged Juliet out of the crime scene and into the forest just out of sight of the cops.

He ran his fingers through her pretty blonde hair, enjoying the look of pleasure he saw reflected in her beautiful grey eyes. "Jules" he said simply pulling her tight and burying his nose in her pineapple scented hair. It was the little things like that that drove him crazy. She went the extra mile to appeal to him, even when he already thought she was the most gorgeous being on the entire planet. "You smell delicious" he murmured.

"I wonder why" she grinned up at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She could feel the exhaustion left over from the last couple nights down deep in her bones and she wasn't looking forward to intensifying it. All she wanted was a nap curled up against Shawn's chest, and a little _time._ It felt like she was hurtling through life at a million miles a minute, with every second a new opportunity for her or her Shawn to be killed in some horrible way.

"When I get you home, we are going to pop some popcorn, watch an old movie and order pineapple pizza. Then I am going to carry you into my bedroom and massage every inch of you until you forget how it feels to be frightened. When I said I'd protect you, I meant it. You should relax Jules. It's going to be okay. You have the best Psychic detective in the whole world for a boyfriend"

"Oh, so now you're my boyfriend?" Juliet had an impish grin on her face.

"Well I assumed that since you were using pineapple shampoo that you must totally want me"

"I didn't realize my shampoo was a commitment"

"Jules, don't be a rabid squirrel, everyone knows that."

"I must have missed that fine print on the bottle"

"Oh, well it was there. Here. Let me fix that for you. Juliet, will you honor me with the title of boyfriend? And in return, I shall dub thee girlfriend." He kissed her hand jokingly.

"Are you asking me that at a crime scene?"

"Technically, we are just in the woods now. Do you see any yellow tape?"

"Well no, I suppose you are right. But I can smell it."

"Stop avoiding the question, Jules" He searched her eyes for an answer. Her beautiful eyes told him nothing. She was guarding her expression fiercely, and the thought of what that might mean made the bottom of his stomach drop.

"You're the psychic, you tell me." She laughed and stood on her tip toes, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "Yes, Shawn Spencer, I would love to be your girlfriend." Her lips brushing his ear as she purred into it.

He smiled and kissed her softly. "As much as it kills me to let you go, I'm sure Lassifrass is pining for you in your absence. When we get home I promise we will discuss the other _ah_ commitments your wonderful shampoo has signed you up for." He gave her a broad wink before kissing her once again, passionate and crushing. Her legs wobbled a bit when he released her, the negative thoughts from earlier completely forgotten.


End file.
